All the happiness fit to email

Jun 09, 2021

PINNED: this newsletter is supposed to be a friendly recapping of the movies in, and coming to, theaters. But things be real weird right now. So until that changes in earnest, I'll either be suggesting old favorites to revisit, pointing out recent flicks you may have missed or calling out notable new VOD / streaming options.

I meant to write about this a few weeks ago, but was prompted by Warner Bros. doing it again; putting the first X minutes of their latest movie online prior to the full release - in this case it's the first 8 minutes of In the Heights (featured below).

This used to happen here and there back in the day, but it felt rarer. And I remember it coming up often during "big idea" meetings back at Paramount (probably still does), but it was usually just as often shut down. Worries about filmmaker response or looking desperate were usually the scale tipping perceived negatives.

But recently? It feels like every movie that's coming out. Last month Warner Bros. also did it with Mortal Kombat and Netflix put out the first 15 mins of Army of the Dead; now Universal is releasing the first five minutes of Jurassic Park: Dominion as a preview before Fast 9 (only in IMAX theaters though).

I'm not necessarily saying it's a good or bad thing, kind of depends on the results, but it is worth noting since movies are such a unique product. It's rare that a product has ads (trailers) that people seek out and choose to watch and rarer such that those ads are various pieces of the product. Almost like Apple giving you the camera and the processor, but not anything else. But trailers are almost products in themselves, hell, sometimes they're better products than the movie. But that's because they are their own mini-movies. But X minutes of a movie? That's different. You better have a darn good opening to draw people in. Because unlike a trailer, which is usually better fit for a distracted world, watching one long segment from a movie "in the wild" could lose the its impact with notifications, other tabs etc.

Anyway, just thought it was an interesting trend and if we'll see it continue. My take is that it's studios experimenting and trying a heavy push to draw people back in after a long lull. But if you think it's perfectly calculated and they know exactly what they're doing, I can assure you, it is / they do not. 🙃

(from top, left to right)

In the Heights: Ebullient. I'm not trying to go all word-of-the-day on you, but that's the consistent vibe I kept getting as I read critics' responses to In the Heights, the film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first Broadway musical, directed by John M. Chu (he also directed Crazy Rich Asians). Because even though two different movies can each get a positive review, you really feel the difference between a "see this movie" and a "see. this. movie." In the Heights is generating a ton of the latter.

But you should also pay attention to another key word above - musical. Because this, is most definitely that. People will be singing, people will be dancing. A lot. For many, that'll be a great thing; especially with the context surrounding the movie's release. A Quiet Place 2 and last week's The Conjuring allowed people to screech in fright together, but there hasn't been that big opportunity for people to feel bright and happy in a room together (you can bet there'll be some dancing and singing in the theaters too). So even though the movie has been delayed a year, this may have ended up being the best fitting place for it, culturally.

And while the show has gone Hollywood, the people behind the production made sure to bring legit singers and dancers from Broadway - namely, Anthony Ramos (getting lots of ❤️ from reviewers). Ramos was in the original Hamilton production and took over for Miranda after he exited playing the titular character. He plays Usnavi, also originated by Miranda (who has a more-than-cameo role here too), the young dreamer (in multiple senses) who longs to go back to his father's homeland of the Dominican Republic. But he's not the only person with hopes, as the story is ultimately about all of the people in Washington Heights, the predominately Latinx area (and as the movie wants to emphasize, community) of New York City. I'm not going to get too much into plot, as there's a lot (it's a 2.5 hour runtime), but you'll see love stories, family stories and a lot of focus on "the American Dream."

But I will note one other thing, namely that director John M. Chu, who got his start directing dance videos, is known for a bit of visual flair, and you can expect that here, with people fantastically walking on buildings, dancing wigs and more. But all is to be expected. It's a musical, remember?

And it's noted below, but a reminder that you don't need to go to theaters to watch - it's releasing on HBO Max too - but you'll most likely enjoy the movie, and your fellow humans a bit more, if you do see it together.

Out  Thursday
Watch  Theaters & HBO Max
The Trailer | 2 hrs 23 mins | PG-13 | 🍅: 96%

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway: after a dearth of movies for kids, the theaters are gettin stocked with big screen nannies faster than the cabinets of a hoarder who recently acquired a Costco card. But unlike last week's entry, Spirt Untamed, the second Peter Rabbit is both mostly favorably reviewed and likely to at least induce some chuckles / guffaws from the breeders responsible for the movie's core younger audience.

That's because this is one of those pop culture noting wink-wink nudge-nudge kinda movies where its aware of itself, and it wants the audience to know it. So while Peter (again voiced by James Corden) is off actin' a fool with his pals - because why the hell not when everybody already thinks he's a fool after his human mom (Rose Byrne) wrote a book about his bratty behavior at the end of the first movie - there will be a plot involving a "cynical" book exec (David Oleyowo) who wants to commercialize Peter's story for a broader audience (note: this movie already is that) and references to movies that end in car chases, before the movie ends... in a car chase.

So yeah, it's kinda the movie version of if you saw someone holding a sign that reads: "I'd never slap you in the face. Disclosure: I am a liar." And then you walked right up to that person and got slapped in the face. Now, I'm not saying this movie is a slap in the face, but maybe I am? Cuz I don't really know what you're into and I make no judgements in this space. We're all adults here. Except for the children. Please do not slap children.

Anyway. I think you get what I'm saying. But if you don't, let me repeat, slapping children = no.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway = maybe?!

Out  Friday
Watch  Theaters
The Trailer | 1 hr 33 mins | PG | 🍅: 72%

Dream Horse: I mean, the movie is called "Dream Horse." So you probably already have a sense this isn't going to be some dark textured dive into the seedy hedgehog trade out of Malaysia (<-- not real - or is it?). But if you had any doubts, go ahead and watch the trailer and you'll see a piece of media that may rival Ted Lasso in its earnest winsomeness.

So yeah, this is gonna be one of those "crowd-pleaser" movies which also generally translates to predictable. And what of it? Because, to be honest, a lot of movies are. It's how they get to that expected ending which makes the movie worth watching - another way of putting it is, does the story earn its presumptive last act? Reviewers say Dream Horse really does. Plus, it has the benefit of being based on the wholesome and unexpected story of citizens from a depressed mining town pooling together to buy and raise a race horse, which went on to eventually [REDACTED].

Now, even if you can wikipedia the outcome of it all, should we? Probably leave a wisp of mystery eh? *segue alert* But ya know what's not mysterious? How friggen good of an actor Toni Collette is (see: everything she's been in), and apparently she shows it again, as the architect of the town's effort to bring back some hope to an area that's been deprived of it. Apparently she, and the rest of the cast (including Damian Lewis from Billions not playing a jerk) make it more than worth hanging out with them for a couple hours.

If you're wondering at this point, but does it address the moral issues surrounding horse racing and how one's happiness could be perceived as tied to the potential monetary gains of said debatable endeavors, well, then this movie may be a bit too sincere for you. Or who knows, maybe it'll catch you by surprise, just like a certain horse...

Out  Friday
Watch  VOD
The Trailer | 1 hr 53 mins | PG | 🍅: 90%

NOTABLES
(from top, left to right)

Fear Street Trilogy - Netflix is releasing three movies over three consecutive weeks, based on the R.L. Stine book series, and they're all directed by one director (Leigh Janiak). It's the first time this has been done in this kinda way, and it's pretty damn ambitious (they're all set in different eras, and shot accordingly). I'm stoked regardless of how great the movies are, but would love for them to be, ya know, better than bad. First one releases July 2nd.

Reminiscense - sure to be simply be called "that Christopher Nolan looking movie starring Hugh Jackman," because people will "forget" the title (read: be unsure how to pronounce). Funny, considering the movie deals with recreating memories (in order for Jackman to find out what happened to his lost love).

No Sudden Move - full trailer for the Steven Soderbergh directed and *big breath* Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Ray Liotta, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Amy Seimetz starring crime movie set in 1950's Detroit.

America: The Motion Picture - the *ahem* "true" story of how America was founded, complete with a swearing, flipping George Washington (voiced by Channing Tatum) and his band of revolutionaries, including, of course, a centaur-Robocop armored dude.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain - documentary on the late food / travel / overall-life-living pontificator and widely beloved human.

What's In Theaters +

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